Golf-practising device.



A. G. LOTT.

GOLFl PRACTISING DEVICE. 4

Y APPLICATION FILED APR. 8. l9l6. l 1 1 9 1 51:44, Patented July 1b, 19N.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

AQ G. IoII.

GOLF PRACTISING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 8, I9Is.

Patented July 18, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.r

'I To all-'whom t may concern,

j, so

ABRAHAM Gr. LOTT, 0F WASHIhlCzrTOlW,l DISTRICT 0F COLUMBIA.

' GOLF-ritacrisme nnvrcn.

. Be it knownthat'I, ABRAHAM Gr. Lorr, a citizen of the United States,l residing at Washington, inthe District of Columbia, have invented" certain new and useful Improvements -in Golf-Practising Devices, of which the following is ,alspecication This inventionl relates in general to game apparatus, and more particularly to a novel improvement in golf practising devices,

The average golfer is handicapped to-,a great extent by not having the time to devote to the game to obtain thefnecessary practice to .properly develop the correct body poise and arm swingV to obtain the best results in the driving stroke.. known, the head of the driver must be` swung in a'certain path in order'tohit the ball true for a straight drive, and any deviation from this path results -in driving the [ball out ofl the-desired course'. Obviously, the only way to acquire this correct swing and body posture is by practice. y

Accordingly, the present .invention -has in. view, as a-generalobject, a'device whereby the correctv body position and arm movementsof the golfer may bepractised indoors at home, ,thereby not only, providing a bene? cial and enjoyable exercise, but at the same' time developing the correct swing of the-` golf vclub necessary to perfect the driving stroke.l g: y

A further and more specific object of the4 invention is to provide a device whereby it is possible to take repeated strokes while standing "in .one position, and without any adthe invention also proposes to provide/.a fixed objective or target which. will aid 1n training the eyeto remain xed during the Various types of gol-f practising'devices have been proposed, but on account of their complex construction and expensive nature' their generaluse h-as beenvmo're or less prohibited. j Vf,'1herefore, the. present invention has in vievval device that is not onlysimple and inexpensive, 'but strongv and durable,

. and susceptible ofl a neat andattractive commercial embodiment'which can be used indoors or outside without alteration .of the floor or ground. Thus," it will be apparent that the invention is particularly adapted to be placed in the golfers room or at the club claimed.

.theinvention is illustrated in- As is lwellv 5,6,"and 7. justment lof the dev1ce. In this connection,

Patented July 1s, 1916.

. Application filed Apri1 8, 1916. SeriaI No. 89,849.

house and -used morning or evening, or be- Afore starting out to play a game over the golf course. v

With the above and other objects in view whlch w1ll more readily appear as the nature of the invention is Abetter understood,- Athe same consists in the novel construction,

combination arid arrangement of vparts hereinafte'r more fully described, illustrated and A preferred and practical embodiment` of the vaccom- Panying drawings, in which-'- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention showing the head ofa golf club and its relation tothe targetor objective member just priorto striking, the path of the club during the strokebeing indicated by the arrows. Fig. 2 is ial longitudinal sec.- tlonal view. showing the device resting upon the ground or floor and engaged with suitable anchoring means. Fig. 3 '1s a perspecl tive view of the device before being 'assembled, j as shown in Fig. l. Fig.v 4 is a view similar to Fig. A1, showing the board or base member of Fig. 2 inverted to facili-` tate the use of a modified form of targetk.

' Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a preferred commercial form ofthe invention. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional 'view of the device shown in Fig. '5. Fig. 7 is a cross-section of the construction, shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

,Figa 8.i sv ay perspective view of the target holding clips used in the form' of the preinvention' shown in Figs. 'i

ferred form of the Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several iigures of the drawings. L

#In carrying outfthe invention it is proposed to employ a suitable base member v1,

which as shown in the drawings, vis preferably of oblong form, and of suitable size and dimensions to constitute an -eiiectiv'e background and playing" board. It is preferred A'to 'make this basemember'1r of wood, and

provide the same with the flat playing surfaces 2, :which may be paintedor colored green to more closely simulate the color of the golf course.

Any suitable means may-be utilized vfor sa j temporarily or permanently securing the u 'base` member to a Hoor or on the ground, but

an example of a simple and effective way of accomplishing this result isl shown in the drawings andxconsists in providing the base y member with the anchor openings 3 for receiving a `suitable anchor stud 4 to'prevent the escapement or turning of the board un.- der the heavy blow usually impartedto the objective or target member 5 carried thereby, and representing a golf ball. This stud 4 may be lof any desired characteror type,V and when the device is used indoors is preferably rigidly embedded in the door F, as shown'linnF ig. 2, or if the device is used out of doors on soft ground, any suitable anchoring member may be employed, which will not project above the-playing surface.

The objective or target member 5 representing the golf ball, is held in a socket. This'socket may be formed by a notch, slot or opening 6, the ends of which are prefer? ably inclined or beveled -as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and said opening 6 also communicates with a pin receiving'passage 7 adapted to receive a removable pin 8 for detachably locking or holding the target .to the base member. The said target or objective member 5, in the form of the invention shown in Figs.1, 2 and 3, lis preferably a circular flat rubber ring, or a flexible and resilient loo or ring-likefmember of equivalent material which will give or yield'u-nder the blow of the head of the golfclub, as shown by the dot-ted lines in Fig..2, and will also cause the target to automatically 'resume its original form and position after being struck. Or, as shown in Fig. 4, this member may be in the form of an adjustable loop- 45,] .The foregoing 'description .points made from a fiat piece of relatively stout elastic 9, which is detachably securedv to the playing surface of the board, as indicated at 10, and held in place by means of a staple or guide device 11 as shown. The portion of l 601i the elastic" strip between the target loop and the pinlO, being in contrast to the playing surface, will act somewhat as a guide for the eye in determining a straight course in -which to swing the golf club. out the distinctive and characteristic features of the invention, and-these features are preferably embodied in the practical and commercial form of construction shown in Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive, of the drawings. In this construction the target is raised to approximately the same level as the playing surface, instead of having the same held down in the notch 6 as shown in Figs. 1 to 4. In this preferred construction, the essential features of a playing board 1 having the fastening receiving openings 3'at each end thereof, is ladhered to, while the notch or opening 6 is also pres-v ent, Unlike the other forms, of the invention, the present construction ,proposes to provide the playing surface 2 with a protect ing cushion or facing 12, which as shown, is preferably of ribbed or ridged rubber, the same extending for the greater part of its length at one side of the opening 6V and beproper normal position.

2 and 3 and though held locked to the member 1 by the removable pin 8 working in the opening 7, the same is not directly engaged thereby. That is to say, in this instance, it is proposed to provide a suitable varched holding clip l5 having a flat ring-engaging body portion 16 and the pin receiving eyes 17 at eac'h end thereof. -This clip 15 is of such character and dimensions that when in service position the flat body portion 16 thereof projects slightly above the playing surface 2, but not above the top of the cushion 12, while the pin-receiving eyes at each end thereof are in alinement with the opening 7 so that the detachable holding pin 8 may be readily pushed in the eyes of the clip to hold the same firmly vto .the board. 1n connection with the re'silient'fngers 14, it may be noted that the same, because of `their inherent resiliency will have a tendencyl to 4assist in maintaining the target ring 5 in its Thus, after each blow the target member will assume a position where it will be ready for the neXt succeeding blow or stroke.l

From the foregoing', it will be apparent that the invention-essentially has in view a golf playing ,device including Va base member or 'carrier for a detachable and yieldable targetmember having a relatively fixed location on the base or carrier, whereby the opv sary force and strength into the stroke, but.

at the same time assisting him in maintaining his eye in a fixed position which is-necessary to complete the carry through so essential to -a straight drive of a golf ball.

Furthermore, the inventionv provides a device including'a target which i-s so designed j as to indicate the direction of the stroke, and

which closely represents a golf ball, not only 'in appearance, but also in resistance qualities, whereby the operator will be aided in determining bythe character of the blow whether or not his stroke is good or bad.

Without further description, it is thought that the many features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent, and it will, of course, be understood that various changes in the form, proportion, and minor details ofv construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope ofthe appended claims.

1 claim: v

1. A golf practising device comprising a base membergand a target consisting of an rec aso

upstanding self-sustaining element of` tleX-A base member, a target consisting of a single velement of flexible material, and a fastener for holding said element in a liXed location and in an upstanding position onthe base member. r

combination, a holding element, a Hat base member adapted to rest on the 'ground or oor and engageable `with said holding el'eiment, and a flexible target element tted to ,and projecting above lthe b ase member. A

'74. A golf practising device comprlsingva base member and an elastic loop, constituting a target member held to a relatively fixed location on the base member.

base member and an elastic hollow loop, con,- stituting a target member held to a relatively flxe'd llocation on the base member.

6. A golf practising device comprising a base member and a yieldable ring havinga relatively fixed location on said base.

7. A golf practising device comprising .a base member having asocket, a yieldable target member, and means for holding said 30. yieldable target member to the base vatthe target ring, an arched clip member for'holding said ring to the base and fittinginto 3. A golf practising device comprising, in

base member, a .yieldable target held to a 5. A golf practismg device comprising a said socket, and a removable pin for--engag ing said base member and clip.

9. 'A golf practising device com rising a base member having a notch, a yielable target ring, an arched clip memberhaving terminal eyes adapted toy engageisaid yieldable ring, and a detachable pin for entering the hole in said base memberand engaging the eyes of'the clip member.

1Q. A golf practising device comprising a Xed location onl the base member, and a protective resilientvcushion facingv on the base member adjacent .the target.

411. ,A golf practising device comprising a base member, a yieldable target held to a fixed' position .on the base member,and a protective cushion facing on the base memy ber and 'underlying the target.

12. A golf practising device comprising a base member', a yieldable target held toa xedw position on the base member, and a protective cushionfacing on the base member and Ahaving'a resilient rportion underlying the target.

13. A golf practising device comprising a base member, a fiexible target element held to a fixed location on the base member, and a resilient cushion element underlying the target element.

In testimony whereof I. hereunto aiix my signature inthe presence of twovvitnes'ses.

RAHAM .""LO Witnessesz.,

' l EMORY` L. Gnorr, i

' k LELsIE C. SIANDEL. 

